Questions about the Rangers

1) Are you a little concerned about the number of goals allowed in the first three games? I know, it hasn’t been the whole team, and maybe they haven’t worked on system enough, and certainly you don’t put a lot of stock in results of exhibition games anyway. But aren’t we seeing some of the same sloppy away-from-the-puck play we saw last year, from some of the same people?

2) On that note, there was a goal the other night on which Erik Christensen made an dreadful defensive attempt in the neutral zone and Marian Gaborik made an even worse one in the defensive zone. What I wonder is, while Christensen and rookie Derek Stepan have gotten so much opportunity between Gaborik and Alex Frolov, why hasn’t defensively-responsible Artem Anisimov had his shot?

3) Who are the final cuts? Below is the current roster, including Chris Drury. There are 25 forwards and defensemen for a maximum of 21 spots (more likely 20 or 19 since John Tortorella doesn’t like having extra bodies around; but perhaps that changes with cap room now). Are we to believe the last cuts will be anybody other than Michael Sauer, Pavel Valentenko, Tim Kennedy and Todd White? Or will there be a surprise or two in there?

Drury should get a chance at top line..best in faceoff’s and defensively then any other center we have..frolov and gaborik should be able to handle the rest of the work..+he will go to the net unlike most everybody else on the team

I say send down Stepan and McDonagh, cut loose Fedotenko, IR Drury, take time sorting out the young D. Torts will hate having 8 D but for a few weeks see what happens in real games and with extended coaching

Carp – Nobody ever believes me when I tell them that Graves wore #11. I was at the opening night game in 10/3/91 in Boston and saw the only league game that Graves wore #11.

The next day, 10/4/91, two of my friends and I drove from Boston to Montreal to see game #2 and that happens to be the off day that Messier was traded to the Rangers.

At the game in MTL, 10/5/91, not only did I see Messier’s first game as a Ranger, I met a woman between periods in the Montreal Forum. We got married in 1996. She was from City Island and was up there with her friends for the game. I talked her and her friends to go to a bar called Thursday’s because several times in years past, the Ranger team would go there following a game if they stayed in Montreal. Sure enough, the whole team with Messier comes walking in. So I met my wife and Messier in the same night.

We bought the seat that she was sitting in when they sold the insides of the Forum. So, we have an old white wooden seat from the Forum with the Canadien logo and Section 515, Row D, Seat 5 written on it. We told that story to Adam Graves right before we got engaged and he said that he would find me and beat me up if I didn’t marry her.

Stepan, Valentenko and todd white will probably be sent down. It’s got more to do with the rules and the cap than putiing the best team on the ice. I think a trade (or 2) is being worked on as we speak. We actually have some descent prospects and it is a numbers game. They can’t all play so let’s make a deal to fill some obvious holes.

Tortorella loves Fedotenko and he has done enough that Torts won’t cut him. I think it comes down to Stepan, Christenson, White and, Kennedy for the last spot and maybe Boyle for then the last 2 spots or still just the last spot depending on how many players they keep.

This has been the most enjoyable pre-season in a long time watching how everything is unfolding.

scott, great, great story. I was in the pressbox in Boston as Neil Smith was on the phone with Sather making the trade, and on the phone with the doctor as Messier was having his physical. Next morning, really early, there’s a press conference in the Boston Long Wharf Marriott lobby to announce the trade. There we interviewed Nichols (who said he would never report to Edmonton), then flew to Montreal for Messier’s first practice and press conference at the Forum.

I was in the pool, I don’t think the cap is much of a factor now, unless they make a trade.

Drury wont accept a trade there.
And Finger is nothing special.
The Big joke that summer was TML giving Finger twice what Phoenix gave Kurt Sauer.
Which of those former Av’s D would you prefer? Mike’s brother, hands-down

Carp,
I am aware of that, but Burke likes Drury and he needs a REAL captain. I could see Drury wanting a fresh start. It’s not like he is going to Edmonton either.

And for the record, I am NOT advocating trading ANYBODY. I just can’t get my head around this collection of players. And with the new salarycap room, I find it hard to believe that Sather will not make a move.

Gravey wore #11 for the 91-92 preseason & also the first game of the season in the Boston Garden, obviously after that game and before the one at the Forum, Messier was traded for and Graves went with #9. Am I right or am I right?

I think Sauer is gone either by trade or by being picked up on waivers (I think he had to be waived to be sent to Hartford). I could see the Isles maybe picking him up with Streit being out for 6 months.

Valentenko gets sent down to get more ‘seasoning’, which isn’t a bad thing necessarily.

Kennedy and Boyle both stay. Sadly, I have a feeling that Stepan might be sent down once Drury comes back.

Carp, great point on AA being tried between Gabby and Fro. Wouldn’t hurt to try for at least once pre-season game. Or even one period.

As to MZA, I think he went down because to be effective he needs to play as a top 6 forward and it wasn’t going to happen at the start of the season.

As for the roster, I can’t see the Rangers keeping Eminger as a spare and “waste” about $1.2 million in cap space as long as they believe Sauer can give them solid play. Frankly, I wold like to see them bring in a veteran like a Jason Strudwick who can sit on the bench for games at a time and them step into the lineup when needed.

I have a feeling thst Stepan goes down for two reasons. First off he does not need to clear waivers and I think there might be a concern that Stepan hits the wall like Gilroy did after jumping straight from college to the NHL. If it were up to me, I would keep him in the NHL and just monitor him and possibly sit him down for a week or so if he hits the wall.

Dallas just said this morning they are goign to resign him once the ownership is worked out, so he’s absolutely staying in Dallas until at least Feb. when they predict it will be done

AS far as whose left fighting for a job:

White is not staying with that cap hit
Kennedy has inpressed
Boyle has impressed
Do we really NEED fedotenko if we already have Kennedy who is more versatile to play any forward position?
Boogard ins’t playing every night as well

I hoep this year Torts carries the max with an extra Dman and Extra forward

Mikey,
I have to agree with you re: White. White is only here because he came for Brashear. Subtraction by addition. . . or addition by subtraction? Not sure which, but I think White can be demoted, or even waived.

cw, I think Drury’s No-move is different. He can’t go to the minors. He can’t go anywhere. And he loves it here.

But I don’t doubt that there could be a trade involving others.

I still wonder about Avery and his relationship with the coach.

Anthony, that was the outdoor game in Vegas where Tie Domi wanted to fight, I think it was, McSorley for the heavyweight title in Vegas. Also, he claimed to have tripped over a grasshopper on a breakaway.

and, as far as the book, I really wasn’t around much during the Jagr days, so that’s not an option. I might do another one. The opportunity would have to be good, and the publisher even better, after the debacle with the last publisher, who went bankrupt right after “Nightmare” came out.

It wouldn’t be very smart not to keep 7 d-men and extra forward this year since they don’t have any cap issues.

White needs to play better than TGO in order to stay, IMO.
I’m still not sure that Stepan will benefit much from staying in AHL. Even if EC is marginally better at first line center position, it won’t mean much. It’s not like they are contending this year. Let him get the real mileage under his belt.
Not sure about the D situation. Would like to see Valentenko stay, but not if it’s at 7th position.

cw- I hope you are not serious about packing Stepan and Grachev for Richards, even if they take Rozsival.

Forgot to mention before, but one more player who has seemingly improved his skating this year besides Boyle, is Prust. Enough so he can be playing on a third line for toughness, if need to.

Brad Richards would be better than Drury. But he is now over 30 on the downside. He is looking for 40 million contract and is not a goal scorer. Never had more than 26 goals or 20+ goals 6 times. He is good but not great.

ilb,
I am not really serious about anything. I am just trying to get my head around this team. The numbers don’t add up. And even thought there are no superstars, there are some talented players that are gonna get cut/demoted or lost outright to waivers. It just seems that there is some value there and I can’t see Sather dumping Redden and not making a splash with thhe new found $$$$$$.

Carp I’ve been thinking about it for over an hour and I just can’t seem to think of the name of this player you speak of that wore both #11 and the “C” O:)

Anyhow, I think Fedetenko finds his way onto this team. I wonder how Prospal will fair considering he rarely seems to have 2 seasons of production in a row…And I think a lot depends on whether Stepan stays or goes down. It’ll be interesting.

I mention Richards because I can see the fit here on the NYR. It has been rumored in the past, so he is the first name that comes up. I would prefer that the Rangers go with the youth they have, but I don’t believe Sather will do that.

cwgatti, I think a trade is being formulated with all the extra bodies available but the thing we need the most a 1st line center are few and far between. Sather is a great trader but there seems to be little available.

On your first question Carp: I saw MDZ with a silly giveaway or two to NJ (Parise deflects it out of middair, 2 secs later Kovaloser is top shelfing it.) I think (hope)these kinds of things are preseason laziness. There have been a few of these.

I think they keep Booger to play divisional games and other key physical matchups (Toronto, etc). But against a team like the Red Wings (granted not too many per year but other teams too) he will not see time. So they may carry one more fwd than we think for that purpose.

Fedotenko looks hard to cut right now.

Avery talks sh*t but he got Kovaloser off his game in a preseason game of all things! That is hard to cut as well I think. But the existence of Prust makes Avery a little more expendable. But Avery is a bargain for his price tag.

Boyle stays. Guy is a big force, great PK guy, and heady player. He has improved over the offseason.

Guys like White, Kennedy, Valentenko, others def the bubble players. Need to pull some rabbits out of the hat in final 3 games to make it, IMHO.

Stepan is the most interesting guy on the bubble. He is young. He needs 20 mins a night to play to keep developing. If he not on line 1 or 2, I think he has to go to Hartford. Personally, I’d take a shot with him between Fro and Gabs and see how that goes til Drury returns.

MZA and Grachev both need more top line minutes of AHL to sharpen up their games. I thought Grachev actually looked better last preseason than this one.

What’s interesting to me is that so many people can be optimistic about this team this season and yet no one wants to seriously consider whether Avery and or Drury can have bounce back seasons…Drury had a pretty rough season last year. So did Aves..but if either one of them can bounce back and play the way they have in the past then it gives this team a lil different look with a couple more interchangeable parts. Not saying it’ll happen but it’s something to hope for. I’m willing to hope for that more than someone like Brad Richards coming in at this point. Especially with the way Stepan has played.

I hope Sather is working on a trade… One that hopefully includes Roszival. I would love to see them go with Valentenko and Eminger/Sauer instead.

I also agree with ilb, I think that Stepan might as well stay up with the big club and learn up here. He seems pretty mature for his age, so I think he could handle it. I do think that White is gone, not really sure why he’s made the cut so far.

cw- Richards is good, and he will fit on this team, no doubt. But he will demand some money, and will be on downside of his career. The price has to be right. Stepan will provide some quality center position player for years to come. And I wouldn’t give up on 20 year old Grachev as yet. Moy with his size and skills.

Carp, I do believe that AA is being groomed right by this organization ( geez, did I just say that?). A two-way second line center. Even if he gets a chance with Gaborik and Frolov, she won’t stick. I think Frolov is very responsible defensive, so can be Gaborik, but he gets lazy on backchecking at times. Someone mentioned Drury. Interesting thought. Very. It may actually work

Anyone remember that goal that Gaborik scored last year…
There was one Dman back, and he gracefully glided into the offensive zone up the left side, calmly dragged the puck from the blue line to shooting position and ripped it top shelf!

***

Sure do, I was at that game. The play developed in slow motion and given that most goals are scored very quickly these days it was amazing to watch.

Regarding trades: Sather has a serious problem with that this year, and it’s a good problem to have. Anytime he wants to get someone of value, the opposing team will mention the names of Stepan, McDonagh, Valentenko etc.

Orr – No, no Departed. I couldnt possibly deal with both Damon and Wahlberg. There’s some new movie with Zac Efron that looks really good; unfortunately, from the previews, the whole movie revolves around the red sox. And Im not a total glutton for punishment.

I think we should just pass on Fedentenko. I don’t care what he does in the pre-season. Does anyone think he’ll actually make an impact with this team? Can’t score with Crybaby, or Milkman, how’s he going to score with anyone else?

i’d take richards as a one-year rental, only if we could give up spare parts and no real prospects in return. dallas has ownership issues and cap problems, so would it be crazy to think richards can be had for a combo of christensen, gilroy and a lower-level prospect like weise?

Michael Del Zotto, a good Italian boy used to his lasagna and chicken parm, struggled the most.

“Michael was the pickiest,” says Roberts with a chuckle. “He’d text me and say, ‘Holy Crap what was that green stuff in my sandwich?’. I said, ‘Those are sprouts Michael.’ One time I got him excited telling him he was getting spaghetti. I didn’t tell him it was actually zucchini, shredded like spaghetti.”

Coach – No necessarily “want” – just that he doesn’t have to pass through waivers and might be good to get more time and experience in AHL. It’s a big jump, and MDZ & Gilroy talked about how long and exhausting the season was. They could bring him up and down easily enough – he looks good enough at the moment to stay for sure, but is it in our best interests to rush him? Not really sure either way…

sauer, byers, weise and grachev are AHL caliber only, I doubt any of them will ever be regular NHL’rs.

white is the new black. gone. I think he is still here because Sather wants to trade him as an NHL player rather than an AHL player.

mcdonaugh may need a little AHL time to get comfortable.
valentenko has looked good, hard hitter and a real shooter for once…but occasionally defensively suspect -fits right in!
I like them both better than Blo-mez. What a trade!

MZA clearly had trouble being an elf in mans game, both in NJ and in motown. He’s skilled but will have to adjust to NHL by way of Hartford-shire. He looked overwhelmed in his between periods interview. You know you got problems when the announcer interviewing you is 2 feet taller. Against detroit I saw at one point, dan cleary just grabbed his shoulder and threw him down, away from the play. You could say cleary was a hobbitual offender…

kennedy is fast. can he finish? he’s a lot like prust. we didn’t need him but it makes things hard to figure.

Fedotenko is a pro.

Eminger hasn’t really had a chance yet, I have no read on him. Seems like a veteran lock on 7d though. but I would take PV or mcD over him right now.

Boyle and gilroy have really improved.

christensen finally showed up in detroit.

stepan is the big question, can he hack the pace? near invisible in detroit, but obviously gonna be good in this league.

Carp, the reason that AA is not between 2 scorers is the fact that he is not a passer, playmaker setup type guy. he is more of a goalscorer, and a good 2 way center. but they want a passer between Frolov and Gaborik, not another shooter

One more per Zipay on Prospal – thought it was funny, except the last line…

“He was buzzing around out there today, scored a couple times and bumped Torts along the boards, knocked his glove off and yapped at him later. Torts joked with the media that he should have speared him. In all seriousness, I’m a little concerned about Prospal’s knee holding up all season.”

The way both Gaborik and Frolov like to play,I dont think they need a pure setup type guy,they both can carry the puck in from the center line to the goal line themselves.
Id like ta see them (Gabby Fro) on seperate lines,for the reasons i just mentioned,also i havent seen to much instant chemistry between the 2as linemates.
maybe like this.
Prospal/Stepan/Gaborik
Frolov/Anisemov/Callahan

CTB – Did you see my explanation yesterday? I used wrong wording to explain Henrik. To put it short, I meant Henrik is the constant that gives us the opportunity to make the playoffs and succeed in the playoffs each year, despite the supporting cast.

I think MZA will prove out to be very good Prospal insurance should Vinny’s knee become an ongoing problem this season. Concerns over his health are a major reason why any talk of him centering Frolov and Gaborik are risky. While he still has top six talent, he may be best used on the third line to lessen his ice time so he is healthier and fresher as towards the end of the season.

It might even be worth the Rangers while to give a “vacation” in the middle of the season. If the Rangers are going to carry 23 players they might as well get the most use out of the reserves.

I’ve been taking this all in, and getting a lessononhow to juidge players enroute to msg and civic center….most of you know these folks better than I do, so I watch and pay attention. Some things I agree with wholeheartedly, some not somuch, and a few not at all.

One thing hat has amazed me for the past several years is all this clamor for Richards. He had one great year in Tampa for the cup, but since then he’s been pretty much Mr ordinary, with acknowledged skills, but which haven’t particularly materialized into the press he gets. Mayhap there is something there that I have not seen, or become aware of, but I do wonder if perhaps we look to far away from home. And if you watched Cheechoo last season, you could see the beginnings of a season of float approaching. I’d let this one pass and look inward instead.

ilb ……….Glad you made it home, and didn’t get tangled up with any giant crocs, or great whites big enough to play in Hartford.

I don’t believe Kennedy is going to get cut, I also think they will try to trade Sauer, rather lose him for nothing on waivers. Valentenko starts season in the AHL, even though he seems to be the type of physical D man we all have been graving.

It doesn’t matter which guys they cut, this team does not have the talent to win the Cup.

So, if you believe that statement, then what good would it do to keep Fedotenko, White and Eminger on the roster? What will they bring to the club other than taking up ice time that could be giving NHL experience to young players?

Go with the kids. Suffer through the season (we will anyway). Hope that the experience leads to improvement next year.

agreed, Charlie … unless they think a prospect might have his progress hindered because he’s not ready, as perhaps in the case of Zuccarello. If it’s between Stepan and White or Fedotenko, I think it’s no contest.

Cross Check – Any team can win the Cup. All you need is to get in the dance, and have a goalie like Henrik carry the team on his back the rest of the way. We have young talent…who knows what they’ll turn into. Point is, we have a nice mix of young talent and veteran leadership, with a quality backup goalie to relieve Henrik of the large weight on his back.

This team will make the playoffs, and I believe this will be the year that a full strength Henrik leads us to the Cup!

CR9- Stepan and McDonagh will benefit more from NHL mileage, as opposed to dominating the AHL, let them make their mistakes here and learn. Besides, do you really want McDonagh to be mentored by Redden?

Good points CR. Eventually if you want to go with the kids, you’re going to have to put them in the lineup. And not of the 4th line. Stepan needs top 6 minutes, or he’ll go to Hartford until the Rangers lose 5 in a row, and have trouble scoring goals and bring him up to spark the team. I’d like to see them just make a decision and run with it.

But also a good point by Gift of Gab. You dont want guys with real talent and a real future on the 4th line with the Booooogaaards of the world. You want them surrounded with better options.

Here’s the dilemma that Torts faces. He coaches in NY, and needs to show some sort of improvement. Not many fans are as understanding as we are. If he gives the kids the action, and our team starts out 10 under .500, the “Fire Torts” chants will begin.

CTB – We never won anything because our defense has been “not so great” – to put it mildly – perennially. In addition, Henrik has been overworked every year because of having no quality backup. And we were basically 11 seconds away from being 1 game away from the Conference Finals – if not for that stupid stupid Drury.

Is Sather is a satist. I think Semenov left him with a bad taste in his mouth last year and by inviting him back I think he was after revenge and just jerking around and couldn’t wait to wipe semenov the roster, and a little too late to get picked up by anyone else…

Despite that, there’s a lot more ruskies this year…Fro, Fed-ex, & V-tank join last years only one, Arty.

CTB – We never won anything because our defense has been “not so great” – to put it mildly – perennially. In addition, Henrik has been overworked every year because of having no quality backup. And we were basically 11 seconds away from being 1 game away from the Conference Finals – if not for that stupid stupid Drury.
***

Individual talent, yes the D was weak. And as great as Henrik has been in his tenure, they were still a perennial top 10 defensive team in the league and some of that comes from the team around him. They lost against Washington because they couldn’t score (I think 10 goals in 7 games). They lost against the Pens and Sabres because they didn’t have talented enough teams to compete with the class of the conference.

They’re working on developing that talent now but they’re still a ways off from competing. Maybe in 2 years when teams like Washington and Pitt find their teams too expensive to maintain (the Pens have half their forwards hitting free agency in 2012, mostly unrestricted too and the Caps have a similar problem as well), the Rangers will see their young talent blossom. They might not have the superstars like Crosby/Malkin or Ovechkin/Semin but they could potentially put deeper teams out there.

CTB , great song!! Thanks!! Cr9 and Ilb thanks for the happy bdays and to you too Momma!!!

Rangers CAN get by without all the talent. They always “bought” thier talent and that never worked. Time to raise the talent(delzotto) and live with what we got(Dubinsky) cuz we are not far off from making a good run here. Top goalie, great young D and euro forwards!!!!!
Rangers are feeling it !!! Time is now folks ..hang on to your hatz cuz come the first game vs Buffalo , we take our first win of the season and we don’t look firetrucking back!!!

Scott , that story was beuty!! Messier and a wife!!!?? Your sick man!!! Talk about good days. To have the seat too is perty unique .

That article , yo Carp , that one about the fans “waiving” the Rangers….is kinda funny if ya like making fun outta us. Its funny if ya don’t care about the Rangers. It is really really funny if I was some idiot azzlander fan or some punk Flyer fan. That article was as dumb as the guy who wrote it. The Oilers!!?? They are scrubs who got a high end draft pick…so that makes them better? Rangers are not losers like Edmonton ,Chicago ( before kane),TORONTO and other weak teams. The only waiving I wanna do is too all the BANDWAGON junping Ranger fans. Get off you sorry butt and support your team you morons …cuz we know what you’ll be doing when we win the cup .(Jumping on our wagon)

I forget who mentioned it earlier but someone said the reason Anisimov wont get a chance between gaborik and frolov is because hes a goal scorer not a playmaker, i disagree totally.. he is capable of scoring pretty goals and setting up guys with nice passes, he is not a one dimensional player, he is a three dimensional player who can score, set up, and play good defensively responsible hockey, for sure

Blogmama – that’s a cool story, too and I hope I’m not boring everybody. It took place in the same bar in Montreal sometime during the fall of 95. I have a lot of great stories from that night in that bar hanging with Larmer and Kocur, in particular, which maybe I’ll share another time.

We started talking with Glen Fetherstone and he asked who our favorite players were and Dawn said that it was Adam Graves. He asked if she had ever met him and she said that she was too shy to be able to talk to him. He said that he played junior hockey with Graves and that he always loves to meet the fans. She reluctantly refused again so he picked her up on her barstool and carried her and the barstool across the bar until he found Graves and plopped her down right in front of him and said that this your biggest fan.

In typical Graves fashion, all he wanted to do was talk to us about us. I had season tickets since 1981 at that point and Dawn got them in 1992 and he was A LOT more interested in what it was like for us to be in the stands during the 94 playoffs than anything about him. And we ended the conversation with him telling me to marry her or he’ll find me and beat me up.

I would love to run into him again to tell him that we are now married going on 14 years.

It’s preseason so I wouldn’t get too worked up about anything good or bad just three “Big Cuts” games. I definitely wouldnl’t take goals in these three games as any sign or fallback into old ways.

I think Staal only playing once and the flux of different players in and partnered together is as big of a reason for that as any. Necessary growing pains of the team as it is right now.

I think once Friday and Saturday come around we’ll have a better idea of who’s even going to be there the following week. Then we’ll have to wait and see a few games going in to worry about the pairings and the possibility that the defense has not improved.

Wouldn’t want to be Torts in the next few days… really tough decisions.

I think Stepan should start his year in Hartford… but if he somehow makes the team (only to play 1st line minutes of course) I just hope they stick with him like the stuck with Del Zotto.

third line RW could be just about anyone since everyone other than Gaborik and Callahan are LW/C. i suspect we’ll see both Fedo and Kennedy getting a shot on RW tomorrow night. which is why i’m still suprised they sent down both MDZ and Grachev.

so by my logic, none of the forwards left get cut. and on D, Sauer and Eminger. Eminger, baah, who needs a journeyman with a wonky groin!

I hate that guy with the mohawk on that show “Glee”. Some people just have faces that you want to rip to shreds, and he’s one of them. Danius Zubrus is another one. Andy Pettite + A Drugged and busted up Penelope Cruz = Danius Zubrus.

I can’t believe the Sabres gave up a first round pick for him at one point.

It wouldn’t shock me to see a trade. You have to give up something to get something and in the case of the cap NHL, you have to give up something to get rid of something.

I think feds and kennedy both make it. Boyle as an extra. Not sure on the EC/stepan deal. Don’t think both make it though. I would rather have vtank than gilroy, rozy, girardi, or eminger and has played better than mcdonut to this point IMHO.

Carp,
yeah the way Torts kept putting Zherdev in the dog house reminded me of how Campbell treated Kovalev, remember that Carp. back then, though, you thought that when Campbell was doing it that it was good coaching.

I liked your post and the information provided about dog insurance. There are plenty of ideas out there on dog insurance that are both honest and not good. If you know of any more information concerning dog insurance, that would be greatly appreciated. Keep up the good writing!